Group "Las Americas"

Title:" An Exploration of the Relationship Between Land Use and Hazards in the Context of Climate Change"

The severe and wide-reaching impacts of land use change/land cover change on the natural and human environments of all of the nations in the Americas require a change in the behaviour of individuals and groups throughout the hemisphere. These changes in land use and land cover have significant interactions with the climate system and the effects may be disastrous if not managed effectively. Therefore, risks need to be communicated more effectively with the goal of changing behaviours and reducing the social vulnerability of the populations and getting stakeholders involved to facilitate better planning and management of the way land is used.

The use of geo-spatial technologies such as modelling software and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be employed to simulate the effects that possible future scenarios of land use/cover change will have on natural hazards such as flooding.However, data uncertainty involved in climate change/ land use change research influences the way in which the research is communicated to and perceived by stakeholders and the general public.